About the course

This course prepares you to be a Primary Teacher, teaching ages 5 - 11.

You will spend the vast majority of the year learning how to teach in a real classroom and be mentored by your Learning Coach, who will be an experienced, expert and outstanding teacher.

You will learn how to teach all of the primary school subjects as well as aspects such as behaviour management, safeguarding, special needs and disability, teaching children with English as an additional language, assessment, lesson planning, observing learning and using ICT.

We are one of the first five National Research Schools so you will have access to the latest high quality research and to national experts in a number of fields such as teaching reading and mathematics.

Sheffield Hallam, recently recognised by OFSTED as an outstanding provider, lead the teaching for the 60 Masters credits that you will gain. These are gained through assignments on: Talk and learning, Lesson study (in which you will have the opportunity to do some small scale research of your own) and following the progress of a group of children in your class over a year. These are completed mainly through an on line platform. You spend around 15 days at Sheffield Hallam in the year (travel from your "home" school is paid).

You will be assessed on your growing ability to teach over the year by your Learning Coach/ Mentor and on these assignments.

Interview process

Once you have applied, you may be offered an interview. At the interview, you will be asked to:

Facilitate a classroom activity for between 20 - 30 minutes. You can choose the activity and the year group.

Complete an academic writing task and a maths task

Interview with the panel (Usually the Programme Leader and a Headteacher or Principal from one of the Alliance Schools)

How school placements work

We work with over fifteen schools in the Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester and Manchester areas.

You will learn to teach children from ages 5 to 11.

You will be placed in a "home" school for the majority of the year (around 32 weeks in total) and do a shorter placement (around 10 weeks) in an "away" school so that you complete placements in Key Stages One and Two.

We strive to place you in a home school which is easily accessible for you and which suits your needs after discussion with you.

Financial support

Requirements

Qualifications

GCSE at C grade or above in English Language, Mathematics (or standard equivalent) and a Science

Applicants must pass the Professional Skills Tests in English and Mathematics (It's a good idea to have a look at these soon after applying to give you an idea of the expected standard).

We can facilitate schools in which to gain volunteer experience for Aspirer applicants.

Personal qualities

You must have:

Commitment to a career in teaching

Effective communication skills including use of written and spoken English

Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well in a team

Leadership potential

Ability to relate to and engage with children

A range of positive personal characteristics including flexibility, communication, independence, initiative and resilience

Ability to explain concepts clearly

The ability to develop strong subject knowledge

A sense of humour

About the training provider

Aspirer and Sheffield Hallam University work in partnership together with 15+ primary schools within Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Manchester. Trainees will be placed in schools in the Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Crewe, Northwich and Sandbach areas and in Fallowfield, Manchester. The schools within our alliance are varied in terms of their contexts. We work with schools in rural, urban and more deprived areas, However, all schools in our partnership are committed to ensuring the very best outcomes for all children regardless of their starting points and are excited about training the next generation of teachers who will continue to do this.

As one of the first National Research Schools, our programme is rooted in the latest understanding and research into effective teaching and learning.

We strongly believe that we are best placed to share with trainees up to date, current practice around teaching and learning, classroom management and anything else that trainees need to know in order to become an outstanding and inspirational classroom practitioner, whatever school setting they choose to apply to in the future.

More information about the course and the schools within our alliance can be found on our website:(http://www.aspirerteachingalliance.co.uk/schooldirect).

Training with disabilities and other needs

Both Aspirer and Sheffield Hallam are proud of the support - from application to course completion - that we give to students with access difficulties.

We consider every applicant as a unique individual with the potential to become an outstanding teacher and that we do all that we can to help trainees to overcome any barriers to success.

In the recent past, students with difficulties such as physical needs, dyslexia and hearing impairment have successfully gained their PGCE and QTS with Aspirer.